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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362492">A Proper Reception</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/raziraphale/pseuds/raziraphale'>raziraphale</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Borderlands (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU Where People Actually Showed Up, Alcohol, F/F, Fireworks, Fix-It, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Zer0 (Borderlands), Grief/Mourning, Guns Love and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright and Hammerlock, M/M, Party, Post-Wedding, Reunions, Weddings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:15:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362492</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/raziraphale/pseuds/raziraphale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Having returned to the lodge, covered in blood and officially married, Wainwright and Sir Hammerlock are surprised to find that their wedding guests arrived while they were away.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Athena/Janey Springs, Gaige &amp; Vault Hunter(s) (Borderlands), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>99</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Proper Reception</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey all ! I'm not usually one to buy DLC while they're still shiny and new but I caved under the promise of a wedding in exactly my aesthetic and I'm glad I did! My only complaint was that so many characters rudely refused to attend so with the power of fanfic I'm fixing that rn</p>
<p>I wrote this in a rush (I mean just look at the date lol) so if I fucked up anything or (god forbid) missed a character that probably should have been in attendance - literally just let me know and I can fix it. It's a fun little piece with little plot so it's no trouble ! </p>
<p>Enjoy ! xx</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the wedding party finally slumped up the stairs to the lodge, after a long day of monsters and curses, they were surprised to find the place substantially more packed than when they had left. They made quite a sight, frozen momentarily in the doorway, all of them still dripping blood onto the wooden porch, an exhausted and already slightly tipsy Gaige spread out, asleep, in Deathtrap’s arms, and a reluctant Amara still holding up Claptrap’s dead weight after their trip up the steps. The equally strange group of people inside the lodge only stared back, equally frozen, until a loud shout broke the spell.</p>
<p>“Hey, the grooms are finally here!” yelled Axton, holding up some colourful mixed drink that appeared to have a tiny purple tentacle in it instead of an umbrella. “Let’s get this wedding started!”</p>
<p>“Started?” Hammerlock was the first to find his voice. He looked around the room, packed with Vault Hunters, Crimson Raiders, Sanctuary residents, and friends from days gone by. “My dear friends, you’ve just missed it.”</p>
<p>“What? No!” Brick and Tina shouted at the same time as they pushed to the front of the crowd, jostling Tannis, who covered her ears at the noise and looked like she already regretted coming. Mordecai, following behind, grabbed both of them by the arm and gave them a sharp tug before things could erupt into chaos.</p>
<p>“The invitation did say the wedding would be tomorrow,” Mordecai pointed out after a moment, Talon immediately landing on his shoulder out of seemingly nowhere, invitation in his beak.</p>
<p>“Which, technically, means today,” Tannis added, still clearly uncomfortable in the crowd, but unable to resist gesturing to the clock on the wall as it continued its steady creep past midnight.</p>
<p>Before the conversation could devolve any further, Gaige suddenly stirred in Deathtrap’s arms from the commotion. She looked around blearily, her face eventually lighting up at the sight of her fellow Vault Hunters. She visibly teared up, her smile already starting to wobble. “Guys, you actually came!”</p>
<p>“If we were late here,” started Zer0 coolly from where they were perched on top of the bar, much to its owner’s annoyance. “It was because the psycho broke the gondola.”</p>
<p>Krieg sniffed loudly in the corner but did not erupt into his usual yelling. His head remained bent, as if trying to make himself the same height as the crowd around him. He had one hand on his opposite elbow, holding himself. “Sorry,” he managed, voice rough.</p>
<p>“S’all right, cutie,” Ellie was quick to reassure him with a smile from across the room. “Had me stumped for a while but I got her back up and runnin’ eventually.”</p>
<p>“Eventually,” repeated Salvador bitterly from behind Axton’s elbow, remembering how everyone, in their impatience, had proceeded to pack into the gondola all at once. Tight crowds were painful enough for most people, but being consistently at the same height as most people’s armpits made it infinitely worse.</p>
<p>“No matter,” dismissed Wainwright, casually wringing out some of the blood from his suit. “You’re all here now, and we really appreciate it.” Even though most of the gathered crowd didn’t know him all that well yet, they were immediately warmed by the words, the tension in the room quickly dissipating. “Now is this a wedding reception or what? Get to it.”</p>
<p>Nobody needed to be told twice.</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>By the time Amara, Moze, Zane, and FL4K had all snuck off to retrieve Gaige’s wayward fireworks, the party was in full swing.</p>
<p>Outside, on the porch, Tina was hovering around the fireworks detonator, visibly vibrating with excitement and determined to start the pyrotechnics as soon as the other Vault Hunters returned. It was there she struck up a conversation with Vaughn, who already didn’t enjoy being cooped up indoors, let alone inside a building that just <em>oozed</em> unsettling vibes. Their excited chatter quickly devolved into the two of them shouting made-up words back and forth so loud that, down the mountain, creatures cowered in their snowy dens.</p>
<p>Inside, at the bar, Moxxi had slowly wormed her way behind the counter, taking over Mancubus’ duties with practiced ease. The lodge owner did not take kindly to the intrusion, but didn’t move to retaliate, instead skulking silently behind the bar. He alternated between staring silent daggers at the back of Moxxi’s neck and silently cursing Mordecai and Brick, who were already spread out over the tabletop, making a noisy mess of the bar. Moxxi slid another mixed drink across the bar to Axton, expertly avoiding Mordecai and Brick’s flailing limbs as they slapped the wood with raucous laughter. Axton thanked her with a wink before heading back to his friends.</p>
<p>The Vault Hunters who had brought down Handsome Jack himself were gathered in a relatively quiet corner. Despite the festive atmosphere, they were faced with the grim task of breaking the news of Maya’s death to Gaige. Zer0 had filled the rest of them in while they were waiting for the gondola in their usual clipped syllables, though their synthesized voice had seemed oddly hollow. Krieg had already known, if his relatively quiet demeanor since he’d arrived was any indication, though none of the Vault Hunters could figure out how he’d come to find out.</p>
<p>“I should’ve known when the monks sent me booze instead of her RSVP,” Gaige said through a fresh wave of tears and feeling entirely too tired and drunk for this conversation. She wiped her eyes a little a little too hard, bruise-like blotches dotting her vision, feeling suddenly angry. “It’s not fucking fair.”</p>
<p>Krieg let out a high-pitched keening noise in agreement, but didn’t say anything further. None of them spoke for a while, letting the hum of the party and the distant shouts of Tina and Vaughn bleed into their circle. Axton held his drink loosely at his side, forgotten, and Salvador took the opportunity to swipe the little tentacle out of it. He chewed on the appendage in an effort to keep himself still, keep himself busy. It was like chewing an eraser.</p>
<p>Gaige leaned into Zer0 beside her, though the assassin’s bony arm was hardly comfortable. They were still marginally more comfortable than Deathtrap, though. Gaige suddenly realized how much she’d missed the contact of living things. “Just this once,” Gaige muttered, voice muffled against Zer0’s armour “I’ll forgive you for becoming a corporate shill while I wasn’t looking.”</p>
<p>Zer0 had the decency to look a little ashamed of themselves, helmet lighting up with a <strong>[&gt;///&lt;]</strong>. “Understood,” they said. Their voice was still flat, but they managed to sling one skinny arm awkwardly over Gaige’s shaking shoulders. Taking that as their cue, the rest of them quickly piled into one large group hug. Salvador suddenly didn’t mind the crowd.</p>
<p>On another, happier side of the room, Ellie and Janey Springs were engrossed in a conversation about mechanics while Athena stood grimly beside them. Janey rolled her eyes and nudged her wife’s shoulder. “C’mon dear, it’s a wedding. Perk up.” Janey got a glare for her trouble.</p>
<p>“I still don’t know why we’re here,” Athena said, crossing her arms in front of her. “I barely know one of the grooms and I’ve never even met the other one.” Janey laughed, and Athena suddenly found it much harder to stay in her mood.</p>
<p>“They didn’t invite <em>you</em>, silly,” she said. “You’re my plus one. I know people, too, y’know.” She turned to Ellie. “Proper adventurers need a proper vehicle. Hammerlock’s been to Elpis loads of times while I still had my shop there.”</p>
<p>“Mechanics just know all sorts of people,” Ellie agreed.</p>
<p>Athena’s mouth remained a hard line, but it softened as Janey planted a quick kiss on it, wrapping Athena in a loose hug. “Hammerlock was at our wedding, love, if you’ll remember. We’re just repaying the favour.”</p>
<p>“I don’t remember,” Athena insisted, but her mouth was finally crooked into a smile “I was too busy looking at you.”</p>
<p>Janey’s face lit up with a blush. “Oh hush, you,” she said, but didn’t move to pull away.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, over by the fireplace, the newlyweds had been cornered by an insistent and slightly drunk Marcus. He was pushing a pair of coupons for five percent off at his store into Hammerlock’s face, who way trying his best to politely decline. With Marcus talking incessantly, Hammerlock couldn’t even remind him that he’d just married into a gun manufacturing family.</p>
<p>“It’s too generous, please –” Hammerlock tried instead, his face straining at the lie.</p>
<p>Wainwright looked on, slightly amused. Clay, at his side, also looked mostly amused, but also like he was ready to throw down if need be. Hearing the commotion, Tannis and Zed hovered around the area, nursing their drinks and their social awkwardness, just in case the whole thing ended up in blood and guts. You know, for science.</p>
<p>Claptrap danced on in the centre of the room, oblivious to everything that was going on around him.</p>
<p>All in all, it was a proper reception.</p>
<p>~*~</p>
<p>The Vault Hunters eventually returned with the fireworks and were slowly absorbed into the crowd milling outside for the show. Gaige was hanging off of a tolerant Zane, apparently not as over her thing for older guys as she professed when sober. She kept pressing him to activate his digi-clone, so he and Deathtrap could meet. FL4K made their way towards Ellie, holding a drink they knew they couldn’t ingest, planning to dramatically “realize” their mistake and offer it to their companion. FL4K had been studying human mating rituals as of late, and figured it was just stupid enough to work. Mr. Chew barreled through the crowd behind them, nibbling playfully at guests’ ankles and slurping up dropped hors d’oeuvres. Moze and Amara, meanwhile, had disappeared off together with a few bottles of something fizzy, intent on enjoying themselves while the focus was elsewhere.</p>
<p>Tina’s yell of “KA-FUCKING-BOOM” was all the warning the party got before the sky exploded into pink hearts. The crowd erupted into cheers, drinks held up to the sky in an impromptu toast.</p>
<p>“To the happy couple!” they shouted. Surrounded as they were by friends, Sir Hammerlock and Wainwright were, indeed, happy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>if you're wondering why it took four whole vault hunters to find the fireworks it's because they share one braincell</p>
<p>thank you so much for reading !! any sort of feedback fuels me  + again, don't feel weird about letting me know if something's off</p>
<p>feel free to come scream about borderlands with me over on <a href="http://raziraphale.tumblr.com">tumblr!</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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